Week 1 in Media Studies.
In week 1 on Monday we discussed different areas of social issues, and as a whole class we came up with many issues we all deal with in our every day life such as drugs, bullying, friends, anxiety disorders etc. We went onto doing our own research and went on the internet to find facts and figures of the social issues we had chosen. What went well is we all picked a issue that was personal to us and then as a group we discussed why we chose to pick that issue and how the government can help solve the problem, and also we all as a team gave feedback on each others choices.
What I enjoyed about this week is that we all came in as a group and discussed what social issues we felt strongly about as an individual because it helped me get to know my peers more better because I got to find out what they thought about the world and how they think the government can help change these issues. I also enjoyed working in groups and coming up with many ideas on what social issues there are and what type of damage they can cause.
Week 2 research
Today we started off with going over our work we did last week. We then made our own questionnaires with a selection of questions, and then printed off 13 copies to give to everyone in the class for them to fill out anonymously. Thirdly we then gathered our questionnaires together and analysied what people wrote on them. We then had to do a bibliography where we had to do a tally chart, bar chart, pie chart and a paragraph about our findings.
What went well is that we got all the information we needed to complete our bibliographies. What I learnt from the process today is that many people had the same ideas about self-esteem and how to make people with low self-esteem feel more confident about themselves. I also found out that most males in the class think that you should encourage people who suffer from self esteem by getting them to do things outside of their comfort zone and get them to do things they never think of doing. What could’ve been better is if I got to find out what some people think the government can do to prevent this issue and can help people with low self esteem.
Kimberly’s lesson
In Kimberly’s lesson we firstly tested out if we was allergic to the college’s latex by putting a tiny piece of it on our hands. No one was allergic to it expect from Aimee. Miss then demonstrated what we had to do with the latex, which was pour a bit on the tracing paper and flatten it out to make it a thin layer. Kimberly then gave us a bit of fake blood which me had to layer on top of the latex. We then got given black make-up which we had to use to blend with the blood to make the wound we was creating look real and realistic. My first one didn’t go so well so I restarted mine and it came out okay. This is my second prototype for this project.
We then went to a different room and filled out a special FX production analysis form where we had to look at the production type, atmosphere, plot mood, restrictions and benefits.
This is my prototype for my special effects assessment. For the first week of the course we started off practising how to use latex, makeup and fake blood. This was my second prototype because I restarted.
Neil 27th September 2017 (Week 2)
Today I found the class work very fun and exciting. I worked in a group with Alexia and Khalia and we walked around unique and calm places to take portraits of ourselves. What went well was that we got some really professional photos taken and they looked very realistic. What was successful was that we had a lot of time for us to leave the college grounds and go to places we thought was great to take pictures with. This lesson was based on looking at lens and composition.
I didn’t learn much because I’ve had this experience already in year 11 working with cameras and taking pictures but I had a lot of fun taking pictures with my classmates. One thing I learnt was changing the lenses while taking pictures to make it effective.
Week 3 Yeutunde 2nd October 2017
Today we watched a documentary called ‘A dream of a life’ where we found out that a young lady called Joyce Carol Vincent died peacefully in her house in 2006, however no one found out she had died for 3 years. The mystery is that there was so many signs of her death yet no one knew she was missing. None contacted her for 3 years, none visited her, none knew where or how she was, she was just missing. Her friends thought she just wanted to be left alone without contact, but that wasn’t the case.
Our second lesson we made our own treatments where we produced what shots we are going to use for our own documentaries. For example I’m going to use a medium shot when my interviewee is talking.
What went well is that today I’ve learnt that in today’s society you don’t know who has your back any more, you don’t stay in contact with people you hang out with any more, you don’t always have people who take notice you have been gone missing for a few days/months, and you don’t know who is all alone in their day to day life any more.
Week 3 with Kimberly
Week 3 with Kimberly she made us fill out two production forms for what ideas we have for our own wounds/scabs. My idea was a slit around the leg with blood pouring out of the jeans. The incident would happen at the patients house but then the ambulance will come and take her to the hospital where they will stitch her up and check if she’s damaged any nerve cells.
I think today’s lesson was good I finished off the work and completed everything miss asked us to do. I also enjoyed it because she let us listen to music which helps me concentrate because I can block out the distractions from the class and concentrate on what I’m working on.
Week 3 with Neil
Week 3 with Neil we looked at shutter speed and depth of field. For example we looked at using shutter priority and taking a series of pictures that use f5.6, f11 and f25. We then had to upload them to our desktop on the Macs and then set a new folder onto the Macs and call it shutter speed and death of field. The purpose of this lesson was to take a variety of fast, medium and slow shutter speed photos to show how time freezes when you change the depth and shutter.
We then moved onto Lightroom to make some shot edits. Once we finished we had to take screenshots of the original and edited photos (Command/shift/3) and then to screenshot the tools we used we had to hold command/shift/4.
Week 4 with Yeutunde
Today we watched another documentary called ‘Super Size Me’. It was based around a 32 year old man called Morgan who wanted to investigate the poor nutritions in McDonald’s. He ate at least everything from their menu once for 30 days straight. What I learnt from the documentary is that in some McDonald’s they didn’t have any nutrition charts, and that if you eat all that fast food for 30 days you will become depressed and have heart problems.
I also learnt that McDonald’s is an addiction to many people, the saddest thing is addicting children, children go really crazy for a children’s happy meal where they get a small fries and a small meal of 4 nuggets and a little drink. I think that McDonald’s has a massively negative impact on this society and have gained so many visitors since the 2000’s. From what I’ve seen in today’s society McDonald’s has become more and more popular due to it’s new comers of Double Big Macs and other salty products.
Week 4 with Kimberly
Today in Kimberly’s class we done a newspaper/magazine article on Ben Nye, a famous Makeup artist who featured his company in the first ever Planet Of The Apes and Gone With The Wind. We also had to research another special effects makeup artist and I researched Karolina Griciute, a 21 year old from Norway who has been doing makeup for a while now. She used Ben Nye’s Liquid Latex in her videos and also his fake blood.
Today’s lesson was a very calm and peaceful lesson, I got my work done and printed it off for Kimberly. My work was done in Microsoft Word and I researched about 2 other artists who featured their wounds in films.
Week 4 with Neil
Today we made a shot types for a photo essay presentation where we had to research definitions of establishing shot, clincher photo, portrait and many more. We then had to research a photo journalist and I researched both Elliott Erwitt and Martine Franck. I enjoyed today’s lesson because I was able to make a presentation and listen to music which helped me concentrate more.
I also enjoyed today’s lesson because I got to find out things I never knew before and we recapped on our last lesson last Wednesday.
Week 5 with Miss Yeutunde
Today we all one by one presented our powerpoint presentations on our chosen social issue and asked questions if we had any. We then after did an excercise where we played around with the cameras to help us get use to them and how to film. During our first hour of our second period we then went around the school filming scenes of our short film, where me, Alexia and Khalia produced a short 4 scene film about them finding random clues their mum had wrote.
For my presentation I think it went well, I didn’t stutter and I wasn’t as nervous as I normally am. I also enjoyed presenting it because it helped boost my confidence in speaking to a large amount of people at one time.
In our film Alexia and Khalia were first hanging out in the garden and sitting down talking about her boyfriend and how her relationship was crumbling down. We then filmed a scene where they went to the toilet and found a scrunched up note where it read ‘Help m…’ which made that scene mysterious and it created suspense and they rushed out of the school doors to find the next clue.
Our third scene left them scared and worried, they came upon another note, however it wasn’t just any random note, it was a death note which read ‘Your parents are dead YOUR NEXT’. Our fourth scene was Alexia blaming Khalia on pranking her and it turned into a dramatic fight where Alexia punched Khalia and she clashes with the floor.
Week 5 with Kimberly
Today we finished off our Ben Nye articles and then miss showed us some of her daughters singing videos that she used to audition for X Factor. Today’s lesson was really fun and it was quite funny when miss told Israel to sing because he was mumbling lyrics under his breath. Today’s lesson i think went really well and I got my forms for my wounds and my article finished in time.
Week 5 with Neil
Week 5 with Neil we done some more editing in Lightroom and then screenshot the edited photos next to the original photos with the editing tools we used. I really enjoy editing in lightroom because it’s fun to mess around with the vibrancy and colouring because you can change the picture completely and it will look really good.
Week 6 with Yeutunde
Today’s lesson we first looked up definitions of what an audience and target audience is and explained it in Microsoft Word. We then made 3 of our own audience profiles to go with our documentary. The second lesson in, we filled out a production schedule, and then made our own scripts in groups of 4.
I worked with Jack, Louis, and Cass and we made a really good script about a hitch-hiker who was a ghost in the end. For our homework we have to do a 500 word essay about 3 stages of production. Today’s lesson was really fun and I really enjoyed today’s lesson and working in a group of people.
What could have been better is if we got more work done and I got to finish the work in time. For my 3 profiles I found images online and named them myself and I also described their lifestyles and what they get up to in their spare time.
Week 6 with Kimberly
Week 6 with Kimberly we was downstairs in the canteen for the whole day with her doing our special effects make-up assessment. Me and Magda worked together doing our assessments on each other. Magda went first and did her burn on my hand and then she had to explain what she did to make the burn. I was next and I did my burn on her arm. Once everyone finished we went back to the classroom and uploaded our footage onto our desktop.
Today’s lesson was very fun and I enjoyed doing my special effects on Magda, even thou it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be but I tried my best to make it look effective and realistic. I also enjoyed watching Khalia get her FX make-up done by Erina because she looked so annoyed and angry when I was videoing her, it was funny because Erina tried to make her look like she had wrinkles and she had loads of latex on her face.
Week 6 with Neil
Week six with Neil we looked at planning a photo essay and the ideas we had for our own ones. We had to make a power point about it, for example we had to include why we chose the idea, the purpose of the photo essay, a shot list, the locations to be used and the editing and effects to be applied.
For my photo essay I’m going to be studying flowers and buildings because I like to take photos of those kinds of things because they are interesting to look at and they have unique styles. I said that my photos will be taken in Shoreditch, Clissold Park, Primrose hill and more more places.
Week 7 with Miss Yeutunde
Today in class with Yeutunde we looked at 2 presentations and asked questions to boost up their grades. We then watched another documentary called ‘Law Pay Britain’ where we learnt that apprenticeships are bias and they pay people low wages for their own profits. For example Becky’s weekly pay is £135. We also learnt that they were seen as victims because they went to their apprenticeships and got the wrong training. I then went with Ryan and Cass to film Ryan’s questionnaire for his documentary. Today’s lesson I learnt a lot, I learnt that the government don’t pay properly and they are expecting to get 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.
I enjoyed today’s lesson because we also went through a survey that the college made about our course and discussed the questions as a group. We learnt that most people didn’t like Tuesdays and Wednesday because we do the same over and over again and don’t really learn much. The documentary informed me about apprenticeships and how unfair they treat young adults. I also learnt that they use young people as a tool to get money however they drop them down grades when they are in need of jobs.
While filming with Ryan and Cass I engaged in his questions and answered with an honest opinion about cyber-bullying. The questions he asked me was very easy and I gave a good detailed opinion about the subject. I also think that Cass done very well as well with his questions and gave a really nice detailed view about cyber-bullying. I hope Ryan got what he needed in order to create his documentary and I hope it succeeds and people listen to what he has to say because cyber-bullying is a massive issue in today’s society and it still continues everywhere around the world.
I also liked Kai’s presentation about online grooming and he had a really nice detailed description about why he chose to do that subject. He said he knew people who was groomed and how she felt about it and he also said he felt strongly about it because he doesn’t want it happening to any of person.
Week 7 with Kimberly
In today’s lesson with Kimberly we edited our Special FX Make Up assessment and I successfully completed it. I did my Special FX Make Up assessment with Magda, who is in my media class. We did our own assessments on each other, and we both did really well. Today’s lesson would have been better if I knew how to use Premiere Pro much better, but I had help from one of my peers.
Week 7 with Neil
Week 7 with Neil we made a contact sheet of the photos we had taken for our photo essay, if we had any photos. I had 5 photos and I’m going to be taking more this weekend. My photo essay is about my passion for flowers and buildings, I like taking photos of them because they are interesting things to look at, you can see the different details that flowers have for example their steams and their different textures.
Today’s lesson went well and I enjoyed doing independent work on the computers. Today we also looked at each others sites to see if we’ve got everything done in our Photo Journalism section. Louis had a look at mine and he said I had everything but my background made it hard for him to read my information so I had to change it to a plain background to make it easier to read my details.
Week 8 with Yeutunde
In today’s lesson we first started class off with tutorial and spoke about how we feel about the course and the things we wanted to change. For example 3 people including me said we don’t really enjoy special effects as much as the other two courses we are doing, but however we cant change it because it’s not up to us so we just have to roll with it till the unit is done. We then talked about how the course is going for us and if we are struggling or understand what we have to do in the tasks. I told miss that I’m doing well and that I am up to date with everything and ready to edit my documentary.
Miss then made us fill out a worksheet where we had to write about the production type etc for the 3 documentaries we watched. We then had to go to our emails and download the worksheet and fill it out again on the computers. The first 2 lessons were good and I enjoyed talking about the issues everyone wanted to tell miss and it was funny because Israel was very opened and he was very unhappy with one of the teachers because they always pick on him. Miss liked how honest he was and it made everyone in the class laugh including miss.
At 2 o’clock when our next lesson with Yeutunde started we started to edit our documentaries while some people in our class went to film. At first I wasn’t too sure about the whole editing thing in Premiere Pro, I kept asking Ryan for help and because he knows how to use it, he was glad to help. Once he talked me through how to use it, I started to get the hang of it and I ended up finishing my documentary. However the documentary is timed to end at 1 minute, so I could only fit one of my interviews into my documentary.
What could have been better today is if the documentary was more longer because what I had set out to do I didn’t get to do, I had to put images and voice overs into my documentary but I couldn’t do that because my documentary would have been over 1 minute. So I had to use one interview which left me 25 seconds left of the interview I was using with Khalia and I just put my statistics into those last 25 seconds. In the end my documentary looks really good and I’m proud of it, once it is finished I am going to upload it to my website on wordpress and my own blog on weebly.com.
Week 8 with Kimberly
Week 8 with Kimberly she got us to go through all our work we have done with her so far and upload it onto wordpress under the title ‘Special Effects’. She then got us to finish off any work we didn’t get to complete in the last few lessons. I had to redo the first ever document form we did with her because I saved it onto a different computer and couldn’t find it. I did it about Holby City and we had to describe what our wound would be like and where the action would take place. We also had to describe the costumes, restrictions and benefits there was going to be.
Week 8 with Neil
Week 8 with Neil we continued with our photo essay’s and our planning. The first thing we did in Neil’s class was we opened up our websites and sir came to us one by one and checked if we was up to date with all our photo journalism work. I had everything done expect annotations to my edited photos I uploaded from Lightroom. We then continued our work on photo essays. Today’s lesson was fun and sir said that i had taken excellent photos or my essay, however i needed to take some more because I had a limited amount to show.
Week 9 with Yeutunde
Week 9 with Yeutunde the first thing we did as a class was finish editing our documentaries if we didn’t finish it last week. Miss then got us to make an audience worksheet and print out 11 copies for everyone to fill out when we watch each others documentaries. For my documentary people had said that for what I need to improve is the sound at the end because I didn’t put any audio in so there was like a 30 second awkward silence while the statistics were being shown.
The next thing we had to do after everyone had finished there feedback was to make a tally chart of our findings. Miss told us after we had finished our feedback that we had to do our evaluation. For example we had to talk about what deviates we made from our original ideas, what could have been improved, our role in the production, the conclusion and the skills we have learnt why editing. Once we had finished our evaluation we then had to print them out for miss so she can mark it.
Today’s lesson was really fun and I enjoyed watching everyone’s documentaries expect from mine and Alexia’s because I was in hers and I looked very horrible and mine was very embarrassing because of the 30 second silence.
Week 9 with Neil
Week 9 with Neil he helped me edit and pick out 6 final photo essay shots. We then finished off any work that we had left to finish from either Yeutunde’s or Kimberly’s unit. I had early finished their work so I carried on with my self-esteem blog, which is nearly finished.
Today’s lesson was a very calm and peaceful lesson and I got a lot of work done for Neil.Here is an example of one of the photos we edited together:
Clarity: +33 Saturation: -3 Vibrance: +47
LucyRae Lena Brady 